tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post3964593121808073226..comments2023-09-16T04:58:07.261-04:00Comments on the Annandale Blog: Board Chair McKay urges more action on equityAnnandale Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07543558586252790593noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-3812811516275079842020-06-04T11:23:25.266-04:002020-06-04T11:23:25.266-04:00"Double down on our commitments to equity.&qu..."Double down on our commitments to equity." Sounds good, but what does that really mean? Whenever I hear the word equity I think it means measuring the success of government programs by whether there are proportionate number of whites, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, women, men, etc., etc., and certain (but not all) roles. The way to "ensure" equal outcomes is by incentives, and when that doesn't work the government must resort to force. DCChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18031064189417154766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-73319829702511685722020-06-02T14:04:32.644-04:002020-06-02T14:04:32.644-04:00I am really disturbed by Mr. McKay's statement...I am really disturbed by Mr. McKay's statement “Now more than ever, we know it is the role of our local government to achieve true structural change in our communities...." What the hell is he talking about? It sounds like a threat to me. I can only judge Mr. McKay's intentions by his past and current actions. Recently he has disregarded residents' objections to the county acting on land use issues during the pandemic. He thinks he knows best, and, unfortunately, there is no one else on the Board who speaks up for residents or even asks questions. They just vote yes to his commands. I know he gets angry and impatient after a little discussion. Does that remind you of anyone else? I always appreciated Supervisor Linda Smyth. She wasn't always right, but she always was the one to speak up with reasonable and thoughtful questions and positions from the residents' point of view. There is nobody else speaking up now. So far Mr. McKay firmly believes that land use development is the one trick that will bring about economic equity and success. He wants to destroy single-family housing neighborhoods so that more people will be able to crowd into a single-family housing neighborhood. I'm sure he must know that this will not bring about equity/equality. Developers will purchase houses and then subdivide them into apartments thus destroying the neighborhood's character and quality of life. These apartments will have nothing to do with creating affordability for those with lower incomes. Even if he got this zoning ordinance approved, the rents for the apartment will be determined by the owner of the house not the county. If somehow he thinks the county could enforce some regulation that required lower rents on some who would enforce those. Of course the County's Code Compliance department which is sad but laughable. Code Compliance can't enforce the zoning regulations currently on the books. What must Mr. McKay do to show he is legitimate in his desire to be bring about equity? The only thing he can do is to show residents he is listening and by inviting us in to participate in his big plan for equity long before he unveils it to the public. Pretty sure that's not going to happen. CarolAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6246743662284890173.post-40494449824612208712020-06-02T12:29:07.974-04:002020-06-02T12:29:07.974-04:00Mr. McKay is unable to grasp the inequity to all o...Mr. McKay is unable to grasp the inequity to all of us in his desire to maintain business as usual during a pandemic. The massive development effort in the name of "economic development" is accomplishing nothing but making all the land use attorney's and developers richer while the rest of us are left with a deteriorating quality of life. I have never seen a more wrong-headed approach than the one fueled by the Gartner report. It's been 5 years of overreaching and affordable housing still lags behind. Indeed, Mr. McKay... what ARE you doing?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com